SpaceX launches world's most powerful rocket into space with sports car in tow

"Go go #FalconHeavy!" the Kennedy Space Center tweeted as the rocket soared through the atmosphere.

One of the most powerful rockets to ever head into space took off from a Florida launch pad Tuesday afternoon packing Elon Musk's roadster.

The 27-engine "Falcon Heavy" rocket — constructed by the billionaire's SpaceX company — launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral at 3:45 p.m., after winds prompted a series of short delays earlier in the day.

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"Go go #FalconHeavy!" the Kennedy Space Center tweeted as the unmanned rocket soared through the atmosphere.

About three minutes after blast-off, the massive rocket's two side boosters detached and headed back to Earth as thousands of onlookers cheered.

The vessel carries a red Tesla sports car on top that Musk hopes will one day reach Mars as it shoots for a solar orbit. Musk, the founder of Tesla, tweeted out stunning live video of the convertible floating high above the Earth showing its driver, a space-suited dummy named "Starman" after the David Bowie song. The space gag is reminiscent of the opening credits to the 1981 sci-fi flick "Heavy Metal."

A "Don't Panic" sign was placed on the dashboard, referencing the iconic catchphrase from "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

"View from SpaceX Launch Control," Musk posted along with the video. "Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth."

The rocket was launched from the same pad used by NASA when it first sent men to the moon nearly 50 years ago.

The Falcon Heavy is considered a souped-up version of the SpaceX's go-to Falcon 9 rocket.

The only spacecraft ever capable of launching a greater payload was the Saturn V, which hasn't been flown for 45 years, according to SpaceX.

Falcon Heavy would also have been able to lift twice as much as the Delta IV Heavy, previously the strongest rocket.

But, rather than the concrete and steel payload normally outfitted on space vessels, the Falcon carries Musk's midnight-cherry Tesla Roadster because he "decided it would be more worthwhile to launch something fun and without irreplaceable sentimental value: a red Roadster for the red planet," according to a statement.

SpaceX hopes to have the Roadster break off in the second stage so it can begin orbiting the sun like a planet or comet — likely to pass Mars during that time.

Elon's roadster and its "Starman" driver can be seen trailing the rocket far above the world. (SpaceX)

The rocket, meanwhile, will head back to Earth, where it's set to land on the "Of course I still love you" drone ship set up in the Atlantic Ocean, according to a flight plan Musk tweeted out Tuesday.

"It's important to remember that this mission is a test flight," SpaceX said in a news release this month. "Even if we do not complete all of the experimental milestones that are being attempted during this test, we will still be gathering critical data throughout the mission."

President Trump applauded Musk and his aerospace business Tuesday night on the successful launch as "American ingenuity at its best!"

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Musk replied, "Thank you on behalf of SpaceX. An exciting future lies ahead!"

Musk famously left Trump's technology council in protest of the President's pledge to leave the Paris Climate Accord in July 2017.